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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


C.  P.  HUNTINGTON 

/J~/^y Class  NoT  f^TK, 


#TT? 


NEW  IDEA 


Of 


ASTRONOMY 


And  the 


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lit  01 1 


>Vo 


By 

Of  Massachusetts. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  : 
PUBLISHED  BY    BACCETT,  SCOFIELD  .&  CCMPANY,   NO.   603  WASHINCTGN  STREET. 

1878. 


Tliis  little  work  is  affectionately  Dedicated 

By  the  Author 

To  his  Friend 

MRS.  WM.  T.  SAXON, 

Late  of  Newark,  New  Jersey. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  CongTess,  in  the  year  1878,  by  D. 
Woodwell  Hist,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  or  Congress,  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 


NEW  IDEA  OF  ASTRONOMY 

AND 

THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  EYE. 


The  bigot  will  not  allow  or  admit 
that  there  can  be  any  great  error  in  the 
common,  accepted  views  of  Astronomy 
of  the  solar  system  as  received  from 
the  ancients. 

Astronomy  that  we  call  half-civilized. 
I  will  only  refer  to  a  few  of  the  many 
philosophers  on  Astronomy  to  show 
the  confidence  they  had  in  the  obser- 
vations of  the  ancients.  But  Galileo 
had  a  great  mind,  with  great  zeal  to 
think.  To  contemplate  the  cause  to 
the  effect  he  arrived  at  some  new  ideas 
of  the  material  world  and  its  motion. 
For  his  courage  he  was  persecuted  and 


2  NEW    [DEA   OF    ASTRONOMY 

charged  with  heresy,  and  put  into  pris- 
on because  he  said  the  world  is  round 
and  rolls  around.  Since  the  days  of 
Galileo,  Newton,  the  two  Herschels, 
and  many  other  men  of  noble  mind. 
But  there  are  thousands  that  cannot 
think  or  conceive  an  idea  only  from 
others. 

The  old  school  of  Astronomy  and 
Theology  have  kept  hand  in  hand, 
holding  conventions  to  keep  light  out 
of  the  way  if  it  did  not  come  in  the  line 
of  their  peculiar  ideas. 

About  the  whole  world  of  mankind 
doubt  the  truth  of  the  statement  that 
the  Sun  is  a  body  of  material  fire,  in 
the  form  of  a  globe,  about  885,000 
miles  diameter.  The  Astronomers 
teach  us  that  the  nearest  planet  to  the 
so-called  Sun  is  Mercury,  and  is  dis- 
tant from  the  so-called  Sun  2,7^000,000 
miles. 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.         3 

Venus  is  distant  68,000,000  miles. 
Earth  is  distant  95,000,000  miles. 
Mars  is  distant  142,000,000  miles. 
Vesta  is  distant  215,000,000  miles. 
Juno  is  distant  230,000,000  miles. 
Ceres  is  distant  260,000,000  miles. 
Pallas  is  distant  299,000,000  miles. 
Jupiter  is  distant  485,000,000  miles. 
Saturn  is  distant  885,000,000  miles. 
Uranus  is  distant   1,800,000,000  miles. 
From  the   above  tables   of  calcula- 
tions, by  the   most  eminent  Astrono- 
mers, it  would  be  plain  to  the  common 
mind  that  reflects  on  those  great  bodies, 
that  there  could  not  be  a  man  of  sound 
mind  so  blind  to  the  lio-ht  of  wisdom 
as  to  think  that  the  all-wise  Creator  of 
the  universe  would  form  the  Earth  only 
8,000  miles  diameter,  and  the  so-called 
Sun  about  885,000  miles  diameter,  be- 
ing   390,000    times    larger    than    the 


4  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

Earth,  and  set  the  Earth  distant  from 
the  so-called  Sun  95,000,000  miles. 

It  is  said  the  so-called  Sun  is  a  ma- 
terial body,  and  it  sends  its  heat,  mo- 
tion, and  light  out  from  itself  through 
all  space,  in  every  direction  from  its 
central  point  to  the  circumference  of 
the  solar  system. 

If  this  be  true,  there  must  be  a  per- 
fect uniform  flow  of  heat,  motion  and 
light  gone  forth  to  all  parts  of  the  solar 
system,  giving  all  space  and  all  plan- 
ets in  space,  heat,  motion  and  light, 
equal  in  all  places  in  proportion  to  the 
direct  ray  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth 
or  planets,  and  all  material  bodies  in 

space. 

It  must  be  plain  to  the  mind  of  the 

intelligent  man  that  reflects  on  the  con- 

struction  of  the  solar  system,  as  taught 

by  the   old   schools   at   this   day,  that 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.         5 

there  is  as  great  an  error  now,  in  the 
theory  of  the  solar  system,  as  there 
was  in  the  time  of  Galileo,  and  many 
of  the  old  philosophers  and  astrono- 
mers, when  man  thought  the  earth 
was  a  plane,  and  the  Sun,  so-called,  re- 
volved over  and  under  the  earth,  as  it 
now  appears  to  many  of  mankind  on 
this  earth. 

The  old  theory  was  as  consistent  as 
the  present  incongruous  system  of  as- 
tronomy, that  is  taught  by  professors 
of  the  schools  to-day.  The  reader 
that  contemplates  the  planets  or  stars, 
and  their  spheres,  and  the  great  velocity 
of  the  solar  system,  and  that  there  is 
a  vacant  space  around  the  central 
point  of  the  solar  system  about  74,- 
000,000  miles  diameter,  in  which  no 
planet  has  been  found.  The  nearest 
planet    is    Mercury,   37,000,000    miles 


6  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

distant  from  the  so-called   Sun  in  the 
central  point. 

It  is  said  by  learned  men  of  science 
that  the  Sun  is  about    885,000   miles 
diameter,  not  any  too  large  to  do  ser- 
vice in  the  spacious  arena  of  the  74,- 
000,000  miles  diameter  being  the  sup- 
posed space  around  the  so-called  Sun. 
There  is  not  a  planet  or  other  materi- 
al body  for  the  Sun's  heat,  motion  and 
light  to  rest  on.       The  Sun  is  suppos- 
ed, by  the  best  authority,  to    be  send- 
ing   its    heat,   motion    and   light    into 
every  part  of  the    solar   system,  with 
that   uniformity  that   governs   all  the 
material  bodies,  giving  a  uniform  heat, 
motion  and  light  to    all    parts    of  the 
solar    system,  in    proportion    to    their 
aneel  to  the  face  of  the  earth. 

It  is  plain  to  the  mind  of  many  men 
that  if  there  was  a  Sun  as  described, 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.  7 

only  885,000  miles  diameter,  it  would 
be  a  mere  pigmy  to  give  heat,  motion 
and  light  to  a  solar  system  of  the  di- 
ameter of  74,000,000  miles  around  the 
central  point  of  the  solar  system. 

But  when  man  becomes  acquainted 
with  the  solar  system  of  the  universe, 
all  will  be  delighted  with  the  sublime 
grandeur  of  its  structure  and  magnifi- 


s 
cence 


The  New  Idea  of  Astronomy. 


Elements  and  science  of  Astrono- 
my that  should  be  taught  by  philoso- 
phers of  the  day,  the  earth's  connec- 
tion with  the  solar  system,  and  the 
cause  of  their  action  in  their  proper 
order,  as  seen  in  the  eye  and  intellect 
of  man,  by  the  aid  of  natural  or  arti- 
ficial light. 

To  understand  the  above,  we  should 
first  seek  to  know  the  law  that  governs 
all  the  natural,  and  also  to  know  what 
the  natural  is. 

The  natural  cannot  govern  itself. 

Heat  cannot  govern  itself. 

Motion  cannot  govern  itself. 

Light  cannot  govern  itself. 

Rain  cannot  govern  itself. 

To  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  above, 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.  9 

we  should  examine  the  natural,  and 
learn  of  the  law  of  influx  and  force, 
how  it  flows  into  the  body  and  mind 
of  man,  to  help  man  to  understand 
the  external  and  internal,  the  material 
and  immortal.  If  a  man  is  only  nat- 
ural, he  is  like  the  natural  animal,  and 
is  not  responsible  to  a  higher  law,  but 
it  is  not  so  with  all.  Man  has  a  mind, 
or  soul ;  he  wishes  to  know  why  and 
what  he  is  ;  he  is  a  mysterious  animal, 
and  as  he  begins  to  expand,  the  inqui- 
ry should  be  to  learn  of  self  and  the 
surroundings  ;  he  should  say  in  himself, 

how  do  I 

Hear,  See,  Taste,  Smell  and  Feel  ? 
It  is  thought  by  a  great  part  of  man 
that  they  understand  the  five  senses  by 
which  we  hear,  see,  taste,  smell  and 
feel  ;  but  there  are  but  few  that  do  un- 
derstand   those    organs    of  the    body, 


lO  NEW    IDEA   OF    ASTRONOMY 

truly.  Most  men  think  that  they  hear, 
see,  taste,  smell  and  feel  at  a  distance, 
but  the  animal  man  cannot  hear  at  a 
distance.  He  cannot  see  at  a  distance. 
He  cannot  taste  at  a  distance.  He 
cannot  smell  at  a  distance.  He  can- 
not feel  at  a  distance. 

It  is  an  apparent  truth  that  we  per- 
ceive things  at  a  distance,  but  it  is  not 
so.  It  is  in  those  organs  of  the  body 
(the  five  senses)  that  we  perceive  or 
understand  any  of  the  natural  or  ma- 
terial bodies  of  the  solar  system,  and 
their  influence  on  the  mind  or  soul  of 
man  that  are  on  the  earth. 

The  material  bodies  that  revolve 
around  in  the  solar  system,  that  are  of 
sufficient  density  to  be  reflected  into 
the  eye  by  the  aid  of  solar  or  artificial 
light,  and  through  the  lens  of  the  eye 
into  the  mind  of  man.     Thus  the  im- 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.       I  I 

age  of  ourselves  is  reflected  into  a 
mirror,  and  from  the  mirror  in  through 
the  lens  of  the  eye  into  life,  in  the  body 
of  man. 

An  object  that  is  capable  of  being 
reflected  is  seen  in  the  eye  of  the  ma- 
terial body,  and  in  no  other  way  can  it 
be  seen.  Thus  we  may  perceive  and 
understand  that  all  we  see  is  from  the 
material  bodies  that  surround  us — is  re- 
flected into  the  eye  of  the  material 
body.  We  cannot  hear,  see,  taste, 
smell  or  feel  outside  of  those  organs 
of  the  material  body.  But  by  the  aid 
of  artificial  means  we  can  concentrate 
a  greater  number  of  rays  of  light  into 
the  eye,  and  thus,  by  the  greater  num- 
ber of  rays  of  light,  we  perceive  the 
lines  of  an  object,  clearer  and  more 
defined  in  the  eye,  as  it  is  with  a  spy- 
glass or  telescope.     The  solar  light  of 


12  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

day  passes  into  the  instrument  at  the 
large  orifice,  and  is  conducted  through 
the  dark  chamber  in  the  instrument, 
and  throuh  the  various  lens,  converging 
the  rays  of  light  into  the  small  eye- 
glass, and  through  that  into  the  eye, 
and  through  the  lens  of  the  eye  into 
the  intellect  or  mind  of  man  into  life. 
Thus  the  eye  receives  an  image  of  the 
object  on  the  lens  of  the  eye,  and  re- 
flects it  into  life  in  the  body  of  man. 

The  sight   of  the    eye    has    the  ap- 
pearance  of  a  truth,  but    its    only  an 

apparent  truth  that  we  see  as  it  ap- 
pears outside  of  the  eye,  or  hear  out- 
side of  the  ear,  or  smell  outside  of  the 
nose,  or  taste  outside  of  the  tongue,  or 
feel  outside  of  the  body,  but  it  is  in 
those  organs  that  we  perceive  and  un- 
derstand ourselves  and  the  surround- 
ings.    The  captain  of  a  ship  takes  his 


AND    THE    SIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.       I  3 

sextant  in  his  right  hand  and  holds  it 
firm,  he  puts  his  eye  to  the  small  tel- 
escope that  receives  the  image  of  the 
object  that  is  reflected  from  the  index- 
glass  on  to  the  horizon,  and  from  the 
horizon-glass  into  the  eye. 

The  Sun,  so-called,  or  solar  light, 
has  the  appearance  of  a  truth,  but  it 
is  only  an  apparent  truth.  The  earth 
has  the  appearance  of  being  a  plane, 
but  it  is  not  a  plane  ;  it  is  a  globe,  and 
its  great  proportions  are  such  that  we 
do  not  perceive  that  the  seas  and  lakes 
of  water  all  have  a  convex  form  of 
eight  inches  to  the  mile. 

The  center  of  the  solar  system,  so- 
called  the  Sun,  is  not  so.  It  is  not  a 
material  body  885,000  miles  diameter, 
and  the  nearest  planet  is  Mercury,  dis- 
tant from  the  central  point  37,000,000 
miles,  forming  a  globe  at  the  central  of 

(university  J 

\.      ft.      ~~~ 


14         NEW    IDEA   OF   ASTRONOMY. 

the  solar  system,  74,000,000  miles  di- 
ameter. It  is  plain  to  the  minds  of 
man,  that  to  send  heat,  motion  and 
licrht  from  the  center  to  the  circumfer- 

o 

ence  of  the  solar  system  in  open  rays, 
and  in  every  direction  from  the  center, 
would  be  a  great  waste  of  material 
heat,  motion  and  light. 

Now,  if  we  will  consider  the  sphere 
of  the  solar  system,  its  diameter  being 
690,000,000  miles,  and  the  adhesive 
electrical  straight  lines  in  all  this  vast 
space  there  is  not  any  heat,  motion  or 
lieht  emitted  from  the  adhesive  electri- 
cal  straight  lines,  only  where  there  is 
a  material  body  having  an  atmosphere. 
The  electrical  spark  cannot  ignite 
anything  any  more  than  a  man  can 
make  himself  from  nothing. 

The  adhesive  accumulation  of  elec- 
trical pulse  is  by  action   on  the  adhe- 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.       1 5 

sive  lines  from  the  central  toward  the 
circumference  of  the  solar  system. 
The  latent  power  of  all  material  bodies 
is  in  proportion  to  the  combustible 
qualities  of  the  material. 

If  the  Sun,  so-called,  was  at  the  cen- 
ter of  the  solar  system  a  material  body, 
it  could  not  continue  if  it  was  the 
source  of  heat,  motion,  and  light,  for 
they  are  the  result  of  combustion,  and 
combustion  cannot  continue  if  it  has 
no  supply  from  material  outside  of  it- 
self, because  solar  heat  is  material. 
By  and  in  the  adhesive  electrical 
straight  lines  flows  from  the  circumfer- 
ence  a  supply,  and  the  electrical  pulse 
flows  from  the  central  toward  the  cir- 
cumference. 

Thus  the  supply  and  demand  is  con- 
tinual ;  one  cannot  act  without  the 
other  ;  it  always  acts  in   proportion  to 


1 6  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

the  qualities  of  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere. The  atmosphere  is  about  the 
same  density  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  its  density  decreases  as  it 
ascends  from  the  earth.  But  it  is  not 
known  whether  the  decrease  is  uniform 
from  the  earth  to  the  outside  of  the  at- 
mosphere. 

The  spherical  sphere  of  the  solar 
system  is  as  a  globe,  a  vast  sphere, 
with  the  adhesive  lines  flowing  from 
the  circumference  to  the  central.  The 
electrical  pulse  flows  from  the  central 
toward  the  circumference,  on  the  ad- 
hesive lines  forming  the  sphere  of  this 
vast  machinery  and  power  revolving 
all  the  bodies  that  are  in  the  folds  of 
the  solar  system. 

Each  one  of  the  planets  being  differ- 
ent in  size  and  different  in  density  from 
every  other  body,  no  two    planets  or 


AMD    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.      1/ 

material  bodies  are  alike.      Hence,  they 
all  find  their  orbit. 

All  material  bodies  are  governed  by 
the  same  great  law  of  force.  Thus  it 
is  plain  that  the  planets  or  bodies  will 
continue  in  their  orbit,  and  cannot  vary 
from  their  path  only  by  the  great  law 
of  force.  We  know  more  about  this 
earth  that  we  live  on  than  we  do  of  all 
the  other  planets  that  we  have  around 
in  the  solar  system.  They  are  held  in 
space  by  the  adhesive  lines,  and  are 
acted  on  by  the  electrical  pulse  enter- 
ing the  atmosphere  as  it  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  adhesive  electrical  lines, 
and  are  broken  by  the  earth's  atmos- 
phere, and  the  electrical  spark  ignites 
the  atmosphere  into  a  twilight,  and  it 
continues  to  increase  in  light  until  noon- 
day, then  it  decreases  until  the  evening 
twilight      Thus   it   is   continually   be- 


I  8  NEW    IDEA   OF   ASTRONOMY 

coming  sunrise  on  one  part  of  the 
earth,  and  sunset  on  the  other  side  of 
the  earth.  The  electrical  spark  is  al- 
ways igniting  the  atmosphere  on  the 
side  of  the  earth  that  is  toward  the 
central  point  of  the  solar  system.  Thus 
we  have  heat,  motion,  and  light  on  this 
earth. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  Earth,  at  the 
extreme  from  the  Earth,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  from  50  to  80  miles  in 
depth,  and  is  so  thin  at  the  extreme 
point  from  the  Earth  that  there  is  not 
sufficient  combustion  when  it  comes 
into  the  electrical  pulse.  It  emits  the 
smallest  perceptive  particle  ol  light, 
but  the  light  increases  as  it  approach- 
es the  Earth,  according  to  the  quality 
of  the  atmosphere.  Thus  it  may  be 
seen  why  one  day  has  more  heat,  mo- 
tion, and  light  than  other  days,  or  why 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.      19 

that,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  con- 
tinent of  America,  the  heat  is  thirty- 
three  degrees  lower  by  the  thermome- 
ter than  it  is  on  the  western  slope,  on 
an  average,  or  why  it  varies  on  the 
eastern  slope  from  10  degrees  below- 
zero  to  no  degrees  above  zero.  No 
philosopher  can  show  the  cause  of  this 
by  the  theory  of  the  old  school. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  earth  can- 
not be  reflected  into  the  eyes  only 
when  it  is  on  fire. 

The  material  bodies  that  are  re- 
flected into  the  eye  by  the  solar  elec- 
trical or  an  artificial  light,  are  received 
into  the  eye  as  they  are  in  their  natu- 
ral condition,  not  luminous.  But  all 
luminous  bodies  are  seen  in  the  eye 
with  great  refraction,  as  it  is  with  the 
flame  of  a  £as-burner  ;  when  seen  at  a 
distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 


20  M.W    IDl'.A    OF    ASTRONOMY. 

burner,  it  will  be  seen  in  the  eye  and 
in  the  intellect  many  hundred  times 
larger  than  the  flame  is  at  the  burner; 
the  eras  would  not  burn  without  the  aid 
of  the  surrounding"  atmosphere. 

Thus  it  is  with  all  luminous  bodies, 
such  as  comets,  meteors,  shooting  or 
blazingr  or  falling  stars. 

The  comets  come  and  go,  and  we  do 
not  know  much  of  them  but  to  see  them. 
History  informs  us  of  comets  so  bright 
as  to  be  visible  at  noonday.  Many  of 
them  are  of  celebrity,  reflecting  a  pale, 
sickly,  disagreeable  light,  much  more 
disagreeable  and  disastrous  than  the 
pale,  sickly  moonlight  or  starlight  of 
the  night.  A  comet  was  seen  at  Rome, 
at  noonday,  shortly  before  the  assassi- 
nation of  Julius  Caesar.  H alley's  com- 
et, in  1305,  is  described  as  a  terrific 
comet,   being  of  such   magnitude  that 


1   UJN 

AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.      2  1 

the  tail  was  so  long  as  to  reach  around 
the  world  5,000  times.  The  comet  of 
1680  covered  an  area  of  9700,  and  its 
length  was  45,000,000  miles,  and  many 
others  much  larger. 

Those  philosophers  had  a  very  vivid, 
fertile  mind.  They  say  some  of  the 
smaller  ones  are  only  25  miles  diame- 
ter, and  the  nucleus  cannot  be  seen  by 
the  largest  telescopes,  even  when  near- 
est the  earth,  and  only  as  a  small  speck 
of  fog.  That  man  could  not  perceive 
that  he  had  fog  in  his  eye  ;  that  if  he 
would  get  ^  out  of  his  eve  he  would 
understand  that  all  the  light  he  has  is 
seen  in  his  eye,  and  that  the  object 
seen  in  the  eye  is  three  thousand  times 
smaller  in  the  eye  than  it  is  in  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  man. 

If  we  look  into  the  eye  of  a  man  we 
will  see  the  image  of  ourself  in  his  eye, 


22  NEW    tDEA   OK   ASTRONOMY 

about  the  size  of  a  small  kernel  of 
grain.  Thus  we  may  perceive  that  all 
the  adhesive,  electrical  lines  are  from 
the  central,  and  that  the  electrical  spark 
of  light  is  less  than  one  thousandth 
part  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  it  ig- 
nites the  atmosphere  on  the  side  of  the 
earth  that  is  faced  toward  the  center  of 
the  solar  system.  As  the  world  rolls 
around,  the  adhesive  lines  are  broken, 
and  the  electric  spark  ignites  the  at- 
mosphere into  twilight,  and  it  contin- 
ues to  increase  in  light  until  noonday, 
then  it  decreases  until  evening  twilight. 
Thus  it  is  continually  becoming  morn- 
ing to  one  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth,  and  evening  to  another  por- 
tion at  the  same  time. 

But  we  must  understand  that  all  we 
see  is  in  the  eye,  and  not  outside  of 
the  eye. 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.      23 

The  eye  has  no  power  to  go  outside 
of  the  eye,  but,  by  a  wise  construction 
of  the  great  creation,  man  has  power 
to  see  the  image  of  objects  on  the 
earth  that  are  reflected  into  the  eye  of 
man. 

The  electrical  power  radiating  from 
the  central  to  the  circumference  on  the 
adhesive  lines  in  every  direction,  from 
the  central  to  the  circumference,  form- 
ing a  elobe  in  which  all  bodies  of  the 
system  revolve  around  the  great  cen- 
tral, and  all  being  governed  by  the 
great  law  of  force  and  harmony.  In 
the  whole  space  outside  of  the  atmos- 
phere of  all  the  planets  and  bodies 
that  are  controlled  by  the  influence  of 
the  adhesive  and  electrical  lines,  there 
is  no  emission  of  light  from  the  adhe- 
sive electrical  lines  in  all  the  vast,  un- 
occupied space,  and  natural  darkness  is 


24  NEW    IDEA    OF   ASTRONOMY 

continually  there  until  a  material  body- 
comes  into  the  space  with  an  atmos- 
phere about  it. 

A  telegraph  line,  thousands  of  miles 
in  length,  overland,  in  air  and  water, 
will  not  emit  or  show  a  spark  of  light 
until  the  electrical  fluid  comes  to  a 
break  in  the  line  of  the  telegraph. 

When  the  Earth  comes  between  the 
Moon  and  the  central  point  of  the  ad- 
hesive lines,  there  will  be  an  eclipse  of 
the  Moon  or  any  other  material  body. 
When  the  Moon  or  any  other  material 
body  comes  between  the  Earth  and  in 
line  with  the  central  point  of  the  solar 
system,  then  we  say  there  is  an  eclipse 
of  the  Sun  ;  but  it  is  not  so  ;  it  is  the 
disturbing  of  as  many  of  the  adhesive 
electrical  lines  as  is  contained  in  the 
diameter  of  the  Moon  or  any  material 
body  that  is  passing.      The  electrical 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.      25 

fluid  ceases  to  flow  for  the  time,  until 
that  body  has  passed,  and  the  adhesive 
lines  become  united,  and  the  work  goes 
on  as  before.  I  have  noticed  that 
whenever  a  meridian  solar  eclipse  oc- 
curs the  air  begins  to  become  colder, 
and  the  thermometer  to  go  down  thirty 
hundred  in  forty-five  minutes,  and  after 
the  body  had  passed,  the  mercury 
would  go  up  in  two  hours.  It  is  plain 
that  if  the  Sun,  so-called,  is  a  material 
body  at  the  center  of  the  solar  system, 
and  is  giving  off  heat,  motion  and  light, 
and  it  flows  in  every  direction,  from  the 
center  to  the  most  remote  planet,  and 
with  evenness  and  uniformity  that  gov- 
erns all  in  order.  It  would  be  impos- 
sible that  such  a  change  could  take 
place  in  so  short  a  time. 

If  the  solar  heat,  motion,  and  light 
comes  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  Earth 


26  NEW    IDEA   OF    ASTRONOMY 

and  not  any  where  else,  it  is  in  the 
adhesive  lines  that  flows  the  material 
from  the  circumference  toward  the  cen- 
tral, and  it  becomes  electrical,  and  flows 
from  the  central  toward  the  circumfer- 
ence. 

We  should  remember  that  the  ad- 
hesive and  electrical  lines  are  not  re- 
flective, but  adhesive  and  electrical 
lines,  and  their  force  is  felt  by  all  the 
universe  of  this  solar  system. 

Planets  receive  all  their  heat,  motion, 
and  light  from  the  adhesive  and  elec- 
trical lines. 

All  planets  communicate  with  other 
planets  through  adhesive  and  electrical 
straight  lines,  and  thus  the  whole  solar 
system  is  part  and  parcel  with  the  great 
Supreme  Creator. 

It  is  plain  to  the  intelligent  mind  of 
man  that  the  m-eat  and  vast   network 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.      2J 

of  the  adhesive,  electrical  lines  so  wisely 
constructed  of  material  and  immaterial, 
and  He  has  arranged  them  in  such  or- 
der,  and  balanced  them  so  very  nicely 
that  not  one  of  them  will  ever  come 
within  eleven  million  miles  of  every 
other  planet.  He  has  given  each  and 
every  planet  an  attractive  and  repelling 
power  to  keep  them  in  motion,  and  all 
in  harmony  with  the  motion  of  the  great 
matter  of  action. 

If  the  solar  system  is  of  such  great 
proportions,  and  sends  its  material 
heat,  motion,  and  light  from  its  centre 
in  every  direction  from  the  centre, 
what  must  be  the  waste  of  heat,  mo- 
tion, and  light  in  all  the  great,  unoccu- 
pied space  of  the  solar  system. 

It  is  plain  that  not  one  five  thou- 
sandth part  of  the  space  of  the  solar 
system    is   occupied   by   any    material 


28  NEW    IDEA    OE    ASTRONOMY 

bodies.  Can  it  be  that  the  pretender 
of  philosophy  can  be  honest  in  his 
teachings  at  this  day  ?  Is  he  not  led 
and  influenced  by  the  old  school,  and, 
in  the  same  train  of  discipline,  he  draws 
all  his  ideas  from  the  teaching  of  the 
times,  when  it  did  not  do  to  express 
an  opinion  that  was  not  in  accordance 
with  theology  and  the  accepted  science 
Astronomy  of  the  day. 

I  hope  the  reader  will  not  think  that 
I  am  too  fast  or  too  severe  on  the  phil- 
osopher or  the  astronomer.  I  want 
truth  and  knowledge  if  it  can  be  had. 
I  must  lay  aside  all  that  tends  to  pre- 
dispose or  prejudge,  and  be  willing  to 
have  the  new  thought.  Try  to  under- 
stand the  newr,  and  leave  the  old. 

The  stars,  since  the  commencement, 
have  been  a  study  with  man.  What 
has  he  learned   that  he  can    tell  you  ? 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.      2  0. 

in  truth,  nothing  ;  no,  not  a  thing ; 
nothing  but  folly  and  stuff.  The  phil- 
osopher will  tell  you  to  go  with  him  to 
the  hall  of  science ;  he  will  hand  you  one 
of  the  many  of  their  big-leaved  books; 
he  will  show  you  that  the  fixed  stars 
are  all  grouped  in  constellations,  from 
the  most  remote  antiquity,  and  many 
of  them  are  mentioned  in  the  most 
ancient  writings,  and  many  of  them 
bear  the  same  names  that  the  ancients 
gave  them.  The  names  of  the  con- 
stellations are  sometimes  found  on  a 
supposed  resemblance  of  the  objects 
to  which  the  name  belongs  ;  such  as 
Swan,  Scorpion,  Taurus,  Hercules, 
Great  Bear,  Balance,  Archer,  Goat, 
Water  Beaver,  Fishes,  Eagle,  Dolphin, 
Little  Bear,  Dragon,  Lyre,  Whale  and 
Crow.  Also  a  host  that  might  be 
added. 


30  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

These  representations  were  parts  of 
the  faculty  of  the  Pagan  myth  or  myth- 
ology. The  earliest  catalogue  of  the 
fixed  stars  was  made  by  Hipparchus 
of  the  Alexandrian  school,  a  man  much 
above  his  race  of  humanity  controlled  by 
one  man.  Other  catalogues  have  ap- 
peared from  the  Herschells,  and  May- 
ers, and  a  host  of  other  catalogues  in 
parts  were  made,  the  four  by  Hippar- 
chus about  440  years  before  the  Christ- 
ian era. 

Much  of  those  old  fables  is  retained 
in  the  school  books  of  to-day,  and  the 
philosopher  acknowledges  that  he  can 
not  ascertain  the  actual  distance  of  any 
of  the  fi  xed  stars,  but  he  is  very  positive 
that  the  nearest  one  is  more  than  twen- 
ty billions  of  miles  distant  from  this 
earth.  What  man  can  comprehend 
one  billion  of  miles,  if  he  has  a  good 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.       3 1 

sound  brain,  but  if  a  man  can  can  span 
in  his  mind,  and  see  with  his  eye,  more 
than  twenty  billions  of  miles,  I  think 
his  brain  must  be  a  little  soft  or  weak. 

The  philosophers  of  the  last  century 
have  muddled  things  very  much. 

They  say  the  brightest  fixed  stars 
to  the  number  of  twenty  are  considered 
of  the  first  magnitude, 

The  next  seventy-five  brightest  fix- 
ed stars  are  of  the  second  magnitude. 

The  next  three  hundred  are  of  the 
third  magnitude,  and  so  on  the  number 
increases  to  sixteen  magnitudes. 

Now  the  man  thinks  he  sees  the  fix- 
ed stars  twenty  to  thirty  billion  miles 
from  him.  Many  have  written  much 
about  the  eye,  the  organ  of  vision. 

Sir  David  Brewster,  in  his  treatise 
on  optics,  calls  the  eye,  "That  master- 
piece of  divine  mechanism."      He  says, 


32  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY. 

in  praise  of  God,  "It  is  a  wonder  work- 
ing artificer  that  constructed  this  organ, 
and  we  are  sorry  that  our  powers  per- 
mit us  to  say  so  little  and  speak  so 
feebly."  The  reason  Sir  David  speaks 
so  feebly  is  because  he  was  looking 
through  the  wrong  end  of  the  glass, 
and  not  into  the  mind  and  soul  of  man. 
"The  human  eye,"  says  Sir  David,  "is  a 
spherical  form,  with  a  slight  projection 
in  front."  He  sfoes  on  with  his  remarks 
describing  the  eye. 

In  considering  vision  as  achieved 
by  means  of  an  image  formed  at  the 
the  bottom  of  the  eye,  he  says  we  can 
never  reflect  without  wonder  upon  the 
smallness  yet  the  correctness  of  the 
picture,  the  subtlety  of  the  touch,  the 
fineness  of  the  lines.  A  landscape  of 
three  square  leagues  is  brought  into  a 
space  of  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  yet 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF   THE    EYE.      33 

the  multitude  of  objects  which  it  con- 
tains are  all  preserved,  are  all  discrim- 
inated in  their  magnitudes. 

It  is  a  wonder  that  the  man  of  to- 
day, having  knowledge  of  natural  sci- 
ence, cannot  see  the  grand  man,  man- 
ifest in  the  union  of  the  eye,  the  ear, 
the  mind  being  the  connecting  link  of 
man  to  the  grand  man. 

If  we  saw  outside  of  the  eye,  we 
would  not  see  correctly.  The  sight  of 
the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  feeling  must 
be  connected  with  the  mind,  the  un- 
derstanding, the  soul.  They  live  to- 
gether, they  act  together,  and,  when 
the  body  dies,  they  go  from  the  body 
together.  A  just  judge  presides  in 
court  over  all  complaints  that  come 
into  his  court.  He  hears  in  the  ear 
all  the  evidence ;  in  the  eye  of  the 
body  the  images  of  the   plaintiff  and 

3  »^ 


f  OF  THX 


34  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

defendant  are  reflected  into  the  mind, 
and  he  judges  of  the  case  as  he  has 
seen  it  in  his  mind  and  understanding. 

Thus,  if  the  sight  of  the  eye  were 
permitted  to  go  outside  of  the  eye,  it 
would  soon  become  useless. 

The    same    with   the  Earth.      If   it 
should  revolve   in   the  same  space   in 
the  solar  system  many  days,  the  atmos- 
phere  of  the   Earth  would   be  spent. 
The  Earth  would  be  in  darkness,  and 
death  would  follow,  because  of  the  ab- 
sence  of  heat,  motion  and   light.      If, 
in  the  vast  space  that  is  unoccupied  by 
material  bodies  that  have  atmospheres, 
there  should  be  any  wind  or  current  of 
air  outside  of  each  and  every  planet  of 
the  solar  system,  it  would  cause  a  de- 
rangement of  the  order  of  all  the  plan- 
ets, and  all  would  go  into  confusion. 
But    this  cannot    be.      The    atmos- 


AND   THE    LIGHT   OF   THE    EYE,      $5 

phere  of  every  planet  or  material  body 
is  in  density  and  depth  according  to 
its  quality  to  sustain  an  atmosphere. 

The  solar  spots  that  appear  on  the 
disk  of  the  so-called  Sun  are  to  be 
seen  with  the  naked  eye.  But  we  are 
not  so  void  of  reason  as  to  think  that 
the  sight  of  our  eyes  goes  out  ninety- 
five  million  miles,  or  that  the  light 
comes  from  the  planet  all  the  way  to 
us  by  open  conveyance,  into  our  eyes. 
No,  it  is  not  so  ;  it  cannot  be  so  ;  it 
has  no  foundation  in  reason  or  com- 
mon sense. 

The  officer  of  a  ship  at  sea  takes  an 
observation  of  the  Sun  by  the  aid  of 
a  quadrant  or  sextant,  which  he  holds 
firm,  with  the  telescope  parallel  with 
the  Earth  and  his  eye  to  the  eye-glass, 
With  his  left  hand  he  moves  the  index 
glass  until  the  image  of  the  Sun  is  car* 


36  NEW    IDEA   OF   ASTRONOMY 

ried  down  to  the  water  not  more  than 
three  miles  from  the  ship.  By  the  aid 
of  the  instrument  he  gets  the  angle  of 
the  ray. 

The  Alexandrian  family  were  many. 
When  Alexander  came  to  power  the 
empire  of  Egypt  was  rich.  All  he 
had  to  do  was  to  rob  and  murder.  He 
built  that  great  city,  and  it  continued 
to  flourish. 

The  Ptolemies  collected  a  library, 
which,  at  the  end,  numbered  70,000 
volumes.  It  was  the  wonder  of  the 
world  a  long  time.  But  the  great  city 
fell  under  the  Saracen,  Yok,  A.  D. 
640.  Under  the  new  rule  the  public 
library  was  doomed  to  be  burned,  to 
heat  the  public  bathers.  Those  books 
no  doubt  contained  the  history  of  the 
Old  World  for  4,000  years.  But  that 
city  became   vile  and   depraved,  their 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.       T>7 

canals  all  became  destroyed,  and  a 
flood  of  sand  came  down  from  the 
great  desert  of  Africa,  covering  Lower 
Egypt  about  twenty  feet  with  sand. 

Ouestion  No.  i  :  If  the  Sun,  so- 
called,  is  sending  its  heat  out  from 
itself  to  every  part  of  the  solar  sys- 
tem, how  can  it  be  other  than  uniform 
in  proportion  to  its  angle  to  the  earth  ? 

Ouestion  No.  2  :  If  the  Sun,  so- 
called,  is  sending  its  motion  out  to  ev- 
ery part  of  the  solar  system,  how  can 
there  be  other  than  a  uniform  motion 
in  all  parts  of  the  system  in  proportion 
to  its  angle  to  the  earth? 

Ouestion  No.  3  :  Why  is  it  dark  in 
the  night  ?  If  the  Sun,  so-called,  is 
sending  its  light  from  itself  to  every 
part  of  the  solar  system,  how  can  it  be 
darker  than  it  is  in  the  shade  of  a 
mountain  ? 


Description  of  the  City  of  Alex- 
andria. 

Alexander  the  Great  built  a  cele- 
brated city  in  Lower  Egypt.  It  was 
on  the  neck  of  land  that  separates 
Lake  Mareotis  from  the  Mediterra- 
nean sea,  and  not  far  from  the  Cono- 
pic  mouth  of  the  Nile.  The  great 
founder  gave  it  the  name  Alexandria, 
A.  M.  3578,  and  employed  skillful  en- 
gineers to  assist  in  the  plans  and  con- 
struction of  the  city.  The  site  was 
selected  by  King  Alexander  the  Great. 
The  plot  of  the  ground  was  twenty- 
seven  miles  in  circumference.  Its 
walls  were  high  and  strong,  with  one 
hundred  and  forty-seven  watchtowers, 
with  every  convenience  for  the  accom- 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.      39 

mo  'ation  of  the  officers  and  subordi- 
nates. 

The  walls  and  watchtowers  were 
all  constructed  of  brick  and  cement. 
The  inside  of  the  wall  was  ornamented 
with  figures  of  every  variety  of  ani- 
mal, life  size,  landscape  scenes,  battles, 
armies,  and  all  the  great  events  and 
scenes  of  novelty.  After  the  work 
was  finished,  the  whole  was  covered 
with  a  luster  as  of  glass. 

The  city  was  divided  into  wards, 
one  to  each  watchtower.  Each  ward 
had  two  watchmen  and  their  assistants, 
to  keep  the  city  in  peace,  and  clean 
the  streets.  The  two  watchmen  were 
ranked  first  captain  and  second  cap- 
tain. The  whole  watch  was  divided 
into  fifteen  districts,  ten  wards  in  each. 
Each  istrict  had  one  judge,  who  heard 
all    complaints.       The    fifteen    judges 


40  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

constituted  a  board,  that  held  court  as 
often  as  needed-  This  board  held  the 
power  of  power  of  life  or  death,  but 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  king's 
council.  If  an  officer  of  rank  or  a 
subordinate  was  found  guilty  of  crime 
in  office,  he  was  punished  with  great 
severity,  even  with  death  or  banish- 
ment. 

The  palace  grounds  occupied  one- 
eighth  of  the  city.  They  contained 
the  royal  residence,  the  museum,  sep- 
ulchers,and  many  monuments  of  honor. 
The  royal  residence  was  superb,  beau- 
tiful, inside  and  out.  It  was  built  after 
copies  of  the  Doric  and  Corinthian, 
being  blended  together  in  harmony, 
giving  the  whole  a  beautiful  appear- 
ance. The  whole  was  ornamented 
with  gold  and  precious  stones  and 
much    carved    work.       The    grounds 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.      4 1 

were    ornamented    with    the    choicest 
plants   and  flowers,  the  walks  laid   in 
marble  of   various   colors,  and  every- 
thing rich,  beautiful  and  pleasant,  seen 
by    the    eye.      Many   beautiful,   shady 
bowers,  covered  with  foliage, and  many 
birds    making    music.      The    museum 
building  was  an  oval,  one  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  feet  in  width,  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty-seven  feet  in  length,  and 
five    stories     high.       The     basement 
and   first  story  were   occupied  as  the 
arsenal.     The  second,  third  and  fourth 
stories  were  occupied  by  the  museum, 
each  story  sixteen  feet   high.     Above 
the  roof  was  a  tower,  near  the   front 
end,  thirty-seven  feet  at  the  base,  and 
at    the    top   twenty-seven    feet.     The 
height  from   the   base  was  fifty-seven 
feet,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-seven 
feet   from   the  ground   to  the   highest 


42  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

point.  This  edifice  was  of  the  Tus- 
can order,  with  cornice  and  the  full 
order.  The  doors,  windows  and  stair- 
ways were  beautiful.  The  tower  was 
beautiful  inside  and  out,  with  every 
convenience  for  observation  of  the 
planets  and  stars,  and  all  other  bodies 
that  can  be  reflected  to  the  eye. 

The  city  and  streets  were  arranged 
beautifully,  and  the  center  street  was 
four  hundred  feet  in  width,  with  sixty- 
seven  streets  each  side  of  the  center 
street,  one  hundred  feet  in  width  each. 
In  the  center,  between  these  streets, 
was  a  small  street,  twenty-five  feet  in 
width,  for  ingress  and  egress  and  sew- 
ers' waste.  It  had  two  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  cross  streets,  seventy- 
seven  feet  in  width,  and  four  miles  in 
length  ;  with  sewers  connecting  with 
the  lake  on  the  south  side,  and  empty- 
in^  into  the  Mediterranean  sea. 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EVE.      43 

The  city  had  a  circular  park,  nine 
hundred  feet  in  diameter,  with  mean- 
dering paths  in  all  directions.  Around 
the  outside  of  the  park  was  a  fence  of 
brass.  It  was  always  kept  clean  and 
bright.  Outside  was  a  walk,  thirty- 
seven  feet  in  width,  laid  with  black 
marble.  In  the  center  of  this  walk 
was  a  line  of  almond  trees,  set  seven- 
teen feet  apart,  with  circular  seats 
around  each  tree.  The  whole  grounds 
were  beautified  with  flowers.  In  the 
center  was  a  canopy,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  feet  in  diameter,  covered 
with  green  flowering  vines,  and  ar- 
ranged with  seats  for  the  music.  In 
the  center  were  seven  flag  poles  for 
displaying  the  flags  and  banners  of  the 
many  conquered  cities  that  had  been 
added  to  the  kingdom. 

The  two  sides  of  the   center  street 


NEW    lDi'.A    OF    ASTRONOMY  44 

were  built  after  the  Corinthian  order, 
five  stories  high.  The  building's  were 
not  alike  on  any  two  streets,  and  of 
different  orders.  Many  of  the  best 
were  of  white  marble,  all  finished  in- 
side very  elaborately.  Many  of  the 
buildings  were  of  stone  and  mason 
work.  Many  of  the  palaces  would 
cost  more  than  a  million  dollars.  The 
first  story  was  for  business  purposes. 
All  was  very  beautiful.  The  whole  of 
the  streets  of  the  city  were  macadam- 
ized with  flint  stone  and  Hint  cement, 
all  very  smooth  and  beautiful.  All  the 
streets  were  set  with  shade  trees  of  the 
choicest  varieties,  and  vines,  bushes 
and  shrubbery  of  beauty  and  luxury. 

The  school  edifice  was  curiously 
constructed.  It  was  at  the  base  like  a 
star  with  five  points.  The  fifth  point 
was    due  south.      It   was    five    stories 


NEW  IDEA  OF  ASTRONOMY.  45 
high.  The  fifth  point  projected  south 
sufficiently  to  form  an  angle  of  forty- 
five  degrees  with  the  base  ;  and  per- 
pendicular on  the  north  side  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  feet,  forming  a 
base  at  the  top  of  the  edifice  forty- 
seven  feet  in  diameter.  The  base  of 
the  observatory  was  thirty-seven  feet 
in  diameter,  and  at  the  top  twenty- 
seven  feet,  with  a  hight  of  sixty- 
seven  feet,  and  a  pivoted  turret  on  the 
top,  projecting  five  feet  all  around, 
forming-  a  cornice  of  the  Grecian  order. 
The  interior  of  the  edifice  was  finished 
after  the  full  order  of  the  Corinthian 
style.  Every  student  had  his  separate 
apartment,  and  no  two  of  them  were 
allowed  to  remain  together  at  night. 
There  were  only  two  classes — noble 
and  ignoble,  king  and  subordinate. 
The    school  was  attended  by  only  the 


46  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

noble  families  and  nobility.  The  igno- 
ble were  never  admitted  into  any 
school,  but  all  the  subordinate  were 
compelled  to  practice  some  useful  em- 
ployment or  go  into  the  army.  In  the 
school  was  taught  the  science  of  as- 
tronomy, for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
a  knowledge  of  astrology  and  divina- 
tion. On  the  outside  of  the  school 
edifice  were  balconies  at  every  story, 
eieht  feet  in  width,  leading  to  the 
south  angular  wall.  Through  that 
wall  were  openings  to  pass  from  one 
side  to  the  other  to  observe  the  line  of 
the  solar  light  from  day  to  day,  and  to 
observe  the  Moon  in  her  phases  ;  also 
the  motion  of  the  stars  in  conjunction 
in  line  with  the  Earth,  and  their  effect 
on  the  various  nervous  or  morbid  con- 
ditions of  animal  life  on  the  Earth. 
To  promote  science,  the  learned  as- 


AND    THE    LIGHT   OF   THE    EVE.      47 

tronomer  Hipparchus,  of  the  Alexan- 
drian school,  was  permitted  to  build 
four  hemispheres  over  the  sepulchers, 
each  of  them  being  seven  hundred  feet 
in  diameter  ;  two  on  the  equator,  one 
at  the  north,  and  one  at  the  south,  and 
three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  feet  in 
the  zenith,  the  inside  resembling  the 
color  of  the  sky.  The  stars  and  plan- 
ets were  arranged  in  perfect  order, 
moving  with  regularity  in  their  proper 
courses,  showing  all  that  could  be  seen 
in  one  hemisphere,  being  reflected  into 
the  eye  and  intellect.  The  four  hem- 
ispheres were  arranged  with  transpa- 
rent coverings,  making  it  pleasant  to 
the  eye. 

Thus  the  student  was  made  familiar 
with  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  by  con- 
stant watchincr  and  noting-  the  changes 
of  the  many  stars  of  the  constellations 

J 

of  the  hemispheres. 


48  \1.\Y    IDKA    OF    ASTRONOMY. 

These  four  rooms  were  all  connected 
by  doors.  In  the  four  hemispheres 
the  solar  li^ht  and  lunar  lierht  were 
seen  moving  in  order,  according  to  so- 
lar  and  lunar  time,  with  all  the  changes 
and  variations.  The  comets  were  seen 
to  come  and  go,  and  they  knew  but 
little  of  them.  Stars  shoot  from  their 
places  and  appear  to  go  out.  Many 
such  phenomena  are  related  in  history. 

Each  ward  had  a  library  building  to 
contain  their  part  of  the  books,  parch- 
ments and  scrolls.  Many  of  the  books 
contained  the  history  of  astronomy, 
astrology,  divinations,  jugglery,  the 
Chaldeans,  and  the  victories  and  cap- 
tures of  cities  ;  also  theocracy,  theol- 
ogy and  traditions  ;  also  many  con- 
tained the  rules  and  styles  of  architec- 
ture of  all  the  known  world. 

The  high  and   haughty  ignored  the 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.      49 

ideas  of  those  who  refused  to  acknovt  1- 
edge  the  myths  and  mythology  of  the 
a<je. 

The  city  became  rich  and  built  up 
on  all  sides.  Its  population,  inside  of 
the  walls,  was  five  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand.  Outside  of  the  city  was  a 
population,  subject  to  the  king,  of  four- 
teen hundred  thousand — men,  women 
and  children.  This  great  city  was 
prosperous  and  flourishing,  and  second 
only  to  Rome. 

The  climate  of  Alexandria  is  very 
mild,  and  although  being  in  latitude 
thirty-two  degrees  north,  there  is  sel- 
dom any  rain  or  frost.  The  country 
was  watered  by  hundreds  of  canals, 
taking  water  from  the  river  Nile,  near 
Upper  Egypt. 

The  cares  of  civil  and  religious  gov- 
ernment  were    in     the    hands   of   the 


4 


50  NEW    IDEA    OF   ASTRONOMY 

priests  and  military  officers.    The  king 
was  the  great  dictator,  and  those  who 
did    not    regard  his    opinion  were   in 
danger.      The   priests  were    very   nu- 
merous.     They  held  one-sixth  of  the 
land  as  property.       They  were  not  re- 
quired  to   perform  religious    services. 
They  held  the  public  records.      It  was 
their   province   to  levy  the  taxes  and 
appoint   the    collectors.      They   chose 
the  judges  and  magistrates.     On  en- 
tering   upon    the    office    of   judge    or 
magistrate,  each   one   was  obliged    to 
take  an  oath  that  even  the  commands 
of   their   sovereign   should    not    sway 
them   in    the  exercise   of   their    duty. 
The  tribunals  were  open  and  free  to 
all  ranks  of  people  without  expense  of 
any  kind.      No  professional  pleadings 
were  employed  for  pleading  of  causes. 
The  judiciary  were  supported  by  the 
government. 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.      5 1 

The  penal  laws  were  severe  on  ca- 
lumniators. Perjurers  and  the  citizen 
so  base  as  to  disclose  the  secrets  of 
the  government  to  its  enemies  were 
punished  by  death.  Emasculation  was 
the  penalty  for  him  who  violated  the 
chastity  of  a  free  woman.  The  adul- 
terer was  burned  to  death.  But  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  population  were 
slaves.  A  man  was  allowed  but  one 
wife,  but  as  many  concubines  as  he 
could  take  care  of.  A  man  was 
obliged  to  acknowledge  as  legitimate 
all  the  children  born  to  him  by  his  wife 
or  concubines. 

Alexander  was  twenty  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  the  throne  of  Mace- 
donia, at  the  death  of  his  father.  This 
young  prince  possessed  ability,  and 
gave  proofs,  from  youth,  that  marked 
the  cor-.queror  of  the  Eastern  World. 


52  NEW    IDEA    OF    ASTRONOMY 

The  youth  was  under  the  tutelage  of 
the  philosopher  Aristotle. 

The  young  prince  took  great  inter- 
est in  astronomy,  astrology,  and  the 
so-called  science  of  philosophy.  That 
made  two-thirds  of  mankind  slaves  to 
one-third.  The  slaves  were  kept  in 
ignorance  as  much  as  possible. 

If  any  one  became  obnoxious,  he 
was  requested  to  become  the  bearer  of 
a  message  ;  and  on  his  arrival,  he  was 
put  in  custody  with  others.  Next 
morning  the  order  was  given  to  put  to 
death  all  the  prisoners  in  cell  No.  19. 
They  were  called,  and,  with  only  a 
blanket  on  them,  they  were  conducted 
through  a  number  of  splendid  apart- 
ments to  a  room  about  twelve  feet 
square,  furnished  in  splendor.  They 
were  ordered  to  be  seated,  the  conduc- 
tor closed  the  door,  and   immediately 


AND    THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    EYE.         53 

the  room  began  to  descend,  like  an 
elevator,  down  into  water,  and  all  were 
drowned. 

Alexander  now  became  master  of 
the  Persian  empire.  He  was  so  elated 
with  success  he  gave  way  without  re- 
straint to  every  species  of  debauchery 
and  intemperance. 

But  Alexander  was  roused  to  the 
situation  when  he  saw  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  retain  the  territory  he  had  over- 
run, as  his  troops,  foreseeing  no  end  to 
their  labors,  positively  refused  to  pro- 
ceed. His  pride  was  mortified,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  return.  After  con- 
quering all  the  Eastern  World,  it  is 
said  that  he  wept.  On  his  arrival  at 
Lusa,  he  was  received  with  the  honors 
due  to  a  sovereign  of  the  empire.  He 
married  the  daughter  of  Darius.  The 
king  was  now  well  in  power  ;    but  he 


54         NEW    IDEA    OF   ASTRONOMY. 

feared  the  bold  Chaldean's  prophecy, 
and,  in  spite  of  reason,  it  depressed 
his  spirits  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
gave  himself  up  to  riot  and  debauch- 
ery. In  this  state  he  committed  many 
cruel  murders.  The  consequence  was 
an  inflammatory  fever,  which,  after  a 
few  days,  put  an  end  to  his  life  in  the 
thirty-third  year  of  his  age. 


feEK**l^?f 


